How Olivia Coleman was destined for the deathbed long before she became a favorite for an Oscar

The first professional audition is a nerve-wracking moment of truth for every aspiring actress.

But so clear was the star potential of a young Olivia Colman that she had an army of agents to write her, the very first time she showed her talents to the industry.

John Hartoch, her teacher at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, remembers how she lit the stage when she appeared at a West End event in the final year of her education.

Olivia & # 39; s Army – where are they now? The cast of the Cambridge Footlights revue from 1994, A Bang And A Whimper. Top left in the brown coat is Deborah Sher, an architect with Sher and Whites, who specializes in monumental buildings. In the photo next to her, on the right, is Dan Mazer, 47, a writing partner of Sacha Baron Cohen, who contributed to the development of Ali G and Borat. At the end of the top row, on the right, is Nick Wealthall, a poker expert who runs a business and teaches others how the game works. The image in the middle of the blue coat is Olivia Colman 44, soon Elizabeth II in The Crown and Oscar-tip for The Favorite. To her right was Robert Webb (46) with David Mitchell and Colman in the Peepshow of Channel 4. In the red coat, Elizabeth Hurran, actress who played Emily Bronte in the 2003 BBC drama In Search Of The Brontes. Pictured to her right is James Bachman, 46, actor and writer, who appeared with Colman in Peep Show and Rev. Next to him is Tristram Hunt, 44, former Labor Member of Parliament, now director of the V & A Museum in London. At the front of the 1994 class is Anna Bengo, singer-songwriter and comedian who performed on Radio 2

& # 39; Her monolog lasted a minute, & # 39; he told The Mail on Sunday. In the beginning she let everyone fall in laughter and in the end she had moved everyone.

You can imagine that the students on the bus will return to Bristol afterwards, all of whom are hoping that their phones will ring in the coming days. [But] she had about 17 calls on the way back. & # 39;

The confidence that the agents had in Ms. Colman was clearly as good as now – 19 years later – she is tipped to win an Oscar for her rendition of Queen Anne in The Favorite after she released a Golden Globe last week for the same role had created.

But long before she gained fame through popular performances in shows such as Broadchurch, The Crown and Les Miserables, Colman's radiant personality was evident, as the exclusive photo's of The Mail on Sunday prove.

The first professional audition is a nerve-wracking moment of truth for every aspiring actress. But so clear was the star potential of a young Olivia Colman that she had an army of agents to write her, the very first time she showed her talents to the industry.

Olivia Colman is portrayed with a fellow pupil at Norwich High School for Girls. She went to the paid school from 1982 to 1990

For the first time she discovered her love for acting in a production by The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie against the paid Norwich High School for Girls, where she went from 1982 to 1990.

But it was after she went to Cambridge to train as a teacher at Homerton College that she really thrived as a member of the famous Footlights comedy group, alongside her future Peep Show co-stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb, comic writer Dan Mazer, and Tristram Hunt, who would later become Labor Member of Parliament and then director of the London V & A museum.

Bard at work: Olivia Colman as the princess of France in Love & # 39; s Labor Lost in 1999 with other Old Vic students

Learning lines: practice with a fellow student from Cambridge. Colman, 44, can be seen tonight on BBC1 in the new adaptation of Les Miserables, where she plays against the type as the mess Madame Thenardier

Last night, Mr. Hunt remembered that her only failure was how sensitive she was to a giggling attack.

He said: & # 39; She was spicy, funny, incredibly generous, kind and non-divaish to work with.

& # 39; But she also found everything incredibly funny, so there was always a chance that she would die on stage.

& # 39; The other cast members, especially Dan Mazer, would like to make her laugh. & # 39;

Colman, 44, can be seen tonight on BBC1 in the new adaptation of Les Miserables, where she plays against the type as the mess Madame Thenardier.

Director Tom Shankland said: "We had a real feeling that because Olivia is so warm and sweet, it would be interesting to see her play this dark, bitter woman. We knew that Olivia would be able to find all the lightness in the part – as well as all that awfulness. & # 39;

The confidence that the agents had in Ms. Colman was clearly as good as now – 19 years later – she is tipped to win an Oscar for her rendition of Queen Anne in The Favorite after she released a Golden Globe last week for the same role had created

Cheer up: In this exclusive picture of the episode of Les Miserables from last night's BBC, Olivia plays the leading role in Madame Thenardier